Weekend before last we Netflixed the Anthony Weiner documentary, and it was everything you'd expect -- a full portrait of a talented but deeply flawed man, someone who fought diligently for his constituents, even as he pursued a needless and self-destructive private life.
So it makes sense that Weiner's self-implosion continues unabated, in the midst of a hotly contested electoral contest that finds Weiner's spouse as the right-hand woman of the Democratic contestant. I suppose that's part of the psychopathology of it all, whether "they want to get caught" or whatever.
But the doc is a reminder of how passionate an advocate Weiner could be for the things he seemed genuinely to believe in. Whatever his problem is, like with Eliot Spitzer before him, it has cost untold potential in terms of the good he might have been able to do.
Ordinarily you could make some cheap point about IOKIYAR, how guys like Weiner get their careers derailed even though they never actually have physical contact with anyone, while scumbag pigfuckers like Scott DesJarlais do far worse and keep getting re-elected. But the difference is that most of these Gooper douche-nozzles are transparent in their desire to accrue money and power and notoriety; they make no pretense about "public service" or some such nonsense.
Weiner really did and does come across differently, not just in the documentary but in countless interviews and media appearances over the years, he has unfailingly conveyed a presence of intelligence, confidence, integrity, and a genuine desire to improve the lives of his constituents. It's unfortunate that his demons keep getting the best of him.
So it makes sense that Weiner's self-implosion continues unabated, in the midst of a hotly contested electoral contest that finds Weiner's spouse as the right-hand woman of the Democratic contestant. I suppose that's part of the psychopathology of it all, whether "they want to get caught" or whatever.
But the doc is a reminder of how passionate an advocate Weiner could be for the things he seemed genuinely to believe in. Whatever his problem is, like with Eliot Spitzer before him, it has cost untold potential in terms of the good he might have been able to do.
Ordinarily you could make some cheap point about IOKIYAR, how guys like Weiner get their careers derailed even though they never actually have physical contact with anyone, while scumbag pigfuckers like Scott DesJarlais do far worse and keep getting re-elected. But the difference is that most of these Gooper douche-nozzles are transparent in their desire to accrue money and power and notoriety; they make no pretense about "public service" or some such nonsense.
Weiner really did and does come across differently, not just in the documentary but in countless interviews and media appearances over the years, he has unfailingly conveyed a presence of intelligence, confidence, integrity, and a genuine desire to improve the lives of his constituents. It's unfortunate that his demons keep getting the best of him.
No comments:
Post a Comment